Un cri dans l'ombre

In the sixties, spy stories were galore on screens, more or less 007 like oriented, with cool heroes, or more disenchanted ones. There are also some Hitchcock movies elements in this movie. It begins very slowly then becomes more interesting, but not the John Guillermin's best. With the same Georpe Peppard, I preferd PJ, also from Universal Studios, or still with Peppard, of course the awesome BLUE MAX, for me the Guillermin's ever best, with TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE. The director was not that inspired on this movie, that's my opinion. It's only entertainment and on this point, he succeeded. Mostly set in France, it evokes the war in Algeria, OAS clandestine organization - more or less involved with fascists oriented groups...And Orson Welles is impressive, smashing walnuts with his fingers - fists.....

While living in South Africa my dad and I watched many classic films together, and those are special memories. We managed to record "House of Cards" using our very first VCR (in 1983) and I spent many evenings re-watching it until my brother recorded something over it... I was devastated and have been hoping to find it ever since.

Twenty years later I am still a fan and I give it 10/10 because that's my childhood-based feeling for it. No other film I've seen has stayed with me as intensely.

It's difficult to say exactly why I love this film because the memories are so old. My feelings include: excitement, curiosity, urgency, pleasure, amusement, fun, the motivation to see it may times and the crush I have had since on George Peppard! The images are a little mixed: I remember a boat on a lake, a car racing along a winding road and many desperate escapes. Also images of Paris and the Seine. Orson Welles is totally creepy. My visits to Italy have been influenced by scenes from the film - even visiting the Colosseum in Rome.

Hopefully my memories aren't too tainted by all the films I've seen since, if I come across this one again I'm keeping it far away from my brother.

This film begins in Paris with the body of a man floating in the river Seine with the rather obvious conclusion being that he was murdered. The scene then shifts to an American adventurer named "Reno Davis" (George Peppard) riding in his car with his good friend "Louis Le Buc" (Raoul Delfosse) when suddenly gunshots ring out and both of them are almost killed. Quickly abandoning the vehicle, Reno locates where the gunshots were coming from and catches up to the fleeing person only to realize that the shooter is only a young boy. He then discovers that the boy lives in a huge mansion nearby and after taking him there meets a beautiful woman named "Anne de Villemont" (Inger Stevens) who just happens to be the boy's mother. One thing leads to another and soon Anne offers Reno a job as the boy's tutor. Naturally, being quite short of money, Reno immediately accepts. But what he doesn't know is that Anne's family is not only extremely wealthy but that his presence in the house presents a danger to several of the family members who are harboring a deadly secret that they cannot allow to become public. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film had all of the necessary ingredients for a good film with a fine leading man in George Peppard and an exquisite actress like Inger Stevens to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, the overall plot turned out to be too unrealistic and far-fetched to be taken seriously. That being said, while definitely not a bad movie by any means, there were some scenes that were simply too over-the-top for me and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

From the first bit of footage you will know you are settling in to see a winner. Pierre Barouh's title song is enchanting and beguiling and the singer's voice sounds like an angel. George's acting in HOC rivals his performance in Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Blue Max. It's hard to believe his agent steered him to The A Team when he had proven he had real talent. Inger Stevens, who looks as fetching as you'll ever see her, was also at the top of her game in this movie.

The direction felt like Hitch was behind the camera, it's that good. One of my very favorite actors, Orson Welles, also works his magic. If you like Orson, you will certainly enjoy another of his potentially lesser know performances in Long Hot Summer.

What I will never understand is the production company, Universal Pictures, never released this on tape, laserdisc or DVD (if you have some influence with Universal, call in a favor to fix this). Talk about your missed opportunities! A loss for movie lovers the world over. Your only chance to see this is to obtain the CD-V version.

There is little wrong with this movie. But then there's something just not right . . .

Then as the film rolls on the flaw becomes clear: the movie is paced a tad too slow.

It's well acted, well written and beautifully filmed. The incidental music works, the minor characters are played well, and the storyline is quite believable. If it had been a bit more sassy in pace & energy then the film would have worked better.

George Peppard has a laid-back attitude to his character. Which would have worked excellently had the pace of the film been more upbeat: we would have sensed a man fighting his surroundings, yin against yang. That would have fit in nicely with the story. But as each - pace & protagonist - were so leisurely, this stance took the film almost to a frustratingly downbeat attitude. I believe relaxed was more Peppard's own style in life re his profession, as I gather he refuted being a star - despite the studios loving his being a 6 foot tall blonde hunk of a man. Instead he preferred to do things his own way. (So he missed his calling then: as he seems truly an actor suited to the '60s & '70s, rather than a box office screen idol of the decade he started acting, the '50s.)

The best points are when the writer surprises us ((no spoilers here!)). At these points the film really starts to take off at last . . . Only to then lose that all-important tempo. Disappointing. As the rest of the film seems to offer little in unexpected moments, or any real excitement. And as the movie is meant to be a suspense story, with all the associated moments in a thriller of unforeseen turns, such 'zip' is what is lacking.

Had it been less maudlin in feel, I could have rated it higher. Sadly, as a thriller it doesn't offer much in the way of thrills! Insipid it is, inspiring it (sadly) is not.